Documentary on BBC1 with Clarke Carlisle as the host. It's rather interesting and thought I'd ask if anyone else noticed that there is a strange lack of Asian players coming through the youth ranks at English Clubs. There are Asian players with real talent that are captains of County sides and score 80+ goals a Season in their Leagues and don't get a look in simply because a Club has a policy that they are not taking on Asian players. Think of the untapped talents there could be within our ranks and Clubs don't actually take a chance with it. I normally don't watch Documentaries, but ones about football genuinely interest me as it widens my eyes to the darker sides of the sport that most people miss. It's actually quite shocking. Especially the antisemitism chants that Chelsea would sing to Spurs about the "Spurs Yids" going to Auschwitz and stuff like that. It's quite shocking.
I don't think football is any more racist than any other part of society. Maybe more bigoted against gay people perhaps and women in terms of discrimination. The only famous manageress in mens football I can remember was the hottie out of Excalibur and that was a TV drama.
I think Clark Carlisle came across well. Black managers is an interesting topic, as although Clark quoted 25% make up playing staff in the league pyramid, very few step up into management, maybe the prospect of hassle puts players off management? I can only think of Barnes, Ince, Rosenior and Alexander (RIP) that ever wanted to step into the managers hot seat, unless there are more?
I can't believe that clubs would willingly cut themselves off from one area of the community purely based on an ethic of Racism. If these players are all that they claim to be, then surely it would take ONE club to not be racist, especially a lower league club, and they'd be flying up the leagues. Surely Blackburn, for example, can't have a policy of not taking on Indian-origin kids, what with their owners being Indian. I can't believe that Blackburn are the only Indian owned club. I think sometimes people overlook just how big Cricket is to the Pakistani and Indian communities. Look at how many of them now break through into Cricket clubs, when they, relatively speaking, are still a small minority of the UK population. Look at India as a nation in sport, over a billion people, yet they are rated in football as #168 lower than Aruba, Fiji and Vanuatu! Cricket, reguarly the best country in the world. There is massive potential if Asian players could be attracted. But I don't think it's racism stopping them.
The only way to attribute that to racism though, is to see if managers are being rejected, or not applying. If it's the latter, it's not racism, but that something needs to be done to find out why this particular group are not putting themselves forward for the posts.
It's been said before but the reason black players don't make managers is because they don't take their coaching badges. As for clubs deliberately excluding Asian players? What a load of old ****e that is . They don't make it because they 're not good enough but can't accept it. I've got a mate who captained City boys and was head and shoulders the best player for his age in this area. He never made it and when I ask him why that's the case he says it's because he wasn't good enough. It's as simple as that. I thought Carlisle came across as a bit of a tit to be honest,I turned it off after ten minutes. Just my opinion mind.
I meant to add, I don't think it's racism, as NFU adds below, the players with potential managerial ability don't fancy management, therefore don't take their coaching badges. Elite players earn so much now, why would they want the hassle of management? I don't think the Premier league has produced any decent managers over the last 10 years regardless of colour.
And I'll tell you why he came across as a tit. " Oooh these boys can play. The composure these defenders have is teaching me a thing or two"or words similar to that as he watched an Asian pub team on somewhere like Hackney Marshes. I know he was a donkey but FFS do me a favour. They were ****, they looked like a hung over Linnet and Lark eleven on a Sunday morning but he felt the need to big them up. And there lies the problem.
Powell and Hughton. The percentage of black coaches/managers in the game, is the same as the percentage of black players who take their coaching badges, so they obviously get same opportunities, the more pertinent questionwould be, why don't many black players take their coaching badges?
racism my arse , any chairman/woman would employ a martian if it would increase their chances of success . same as management , if you are good enough in football , you will get the job no matter how you look (as the immortal Dowie - tho i think ive blown my comment away!) As for the Yid thing i suspect its more stupid handbags than a deliberate anti Semitic hate campaign - i mean who takes football chants seriously anyway ??? you have to be a right tit .
I watched it a few weeks ago, I think it largely failed in it's objectives and created an issue out of nothing; Things like; A black manager claiming he got sacked sooner because he was black? That was laughable, really showed himself up. Same with the Asian players, saying they weren't pro's because of their skin colour, if they were good enough they'd get picked. The only real issue was the fan chanting, we know that's an issue but given a large proportion of football fans started going when it was a working class past time and when racism was widespread then it's hardly surprising that such elements still remain, although it is unacceptable, it's not going to change overnight and the authorities have made significant progress in the last 10-20 years on this front. I like Clark Carlisle, he's articulate and well read but this wasn't his finest hour.
Apart from Gillingham that is On the Asian players issue I seem to recall a fair few years ago that this was raised and some lower league club(s) took some of Asias finest on loan/trial. They never made it. It defies belief that the only reason that there are no/so few Asian players playing professional football is that all 92 professional clubs are racist. As for Clark Carlisle, he comes across as a nice guy but I can't help but think that he talks a lot without actually saying anything. I actually went in the audience for Question Time when he was on the panel. He would spend 5 minutes talking without actually making a point.
Anyone read World Soccer? Brian Glanville says this month: I agree with the guy. I didn't even bother watching the programme the OP mentions, as the fact it was produced by the BBC is enough to tell me it was embarrassingly and inaccurately biased in favour of the 'yes' stance. The fact that even NFU interpreted it as such is enough to tell me I'm right, as this is a chap who once ranted at me how lucky I was not to be in a room with his black chum from the army after I told a '******' joke... With regards to Asian players, they're just ****e. Simple as that.
I recall that that conversation and all I was trying to emphasise was that use of such language would have lead to me old chum Black Harry ( as he was affectionately known) possibly tearing you a new arsehole. If memory serves me you went on to say how you once called Rosenior a ******* and you're new girlfriend's family were so disgusted they left you in Medici's. Something like that anyway. I would also like to point out that I feel I can call him Black Harry safe in the knowledge that it cannot be construed as racist. His name wasn't Harry you see! It was James.
He is a *******. Same as you're a caucasoid and Park-Ji Sung is a *****loid. No more racist than calling someone 'Black Harry'
